Record-breaking winner of all the major science fiction awards - the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and Locus - Ann Leckie has a huge, enthusiatic fan following of her Imperial Radch Trilogy:…Read More

I wrote it in August 2004, and it is in my book, and I usually like to discuss this topic this time of year.

“A fool and his money are easily parted.” That was an expression I used often when my children were growing up and sometimes made foolish expenditures using their own money.

On a related subject, it was a creative idea cooked up by credit card issuers who saw a unique way to make more money. Even they did not realize the enormity of their potential windfall. The plot involved them, retail businesses, and the general public.

It was a win-win situation for all involved. For the participating public, it was a no-brainer because for the first time people could make purchases without paying up front.

For retailers, it was worth up to 3% cost to get their money up front.

For over 50 years now, public credit cards have become a way of life, and in retrospect, one could believe it was liberating and good that the ordinary consumer, lacking big savings no longer had to wait to acquire things they wanted.

That little plastic card had the potential to seduce one into acquiring luxuries one might otherwise have done without or waited until one had the cash first.

That same little plastic monster has made debtors out of people who suddenly find they cannot ever seem to pay their monthly bills, and that is where they get sucked into monetary quicksand for all the nebulous pleasures of acquiring more stuff. It is called Instant Gratification. So often we let stuff own us.

The most dangerous time of the year is the Christmas season when countless otherwise restrained people experience irrational exuberance and overextend themselves. They foolishly purchase much too much, then they take months enslaved by outrageous interest rates, sometimes upwards of 25% on the unpaid balance, and these rates are imposed by the credit card issuers. Some people do not get out from under, ever.

Now, for some motherly advice: for starters, our lawmakers should put reasonable ceilings on credit card interest balances, but that will not easily happen. Nothing will change until people stop overcharging on their credit cards and pay up their dangling balances once and for all. If that is not possible, then it is better to say “Thanks, but no thanks” to credit cards and live within your means on a cash basis. You will then experience an indescribable peace of mind by not being in debt, and it is really worth it.

Since the 1920s, the issue of health has grown enormously. Pharmaceutical companies were then in their infancy. There were very few medications at that time. I am not even sure that aspirin was around.

Since then, the awareness of supplements is also new.

Pharmaceuticals are medications, and supplements are usually vitamins and minerals. The former can be very toxic while supplements are healing to the human body.

Pharmaceutical companies have grown very powerful, and now they want the FDA to control and even eliminate supplements so that they can sell more of their toxic medications.

Supplements like vitamin C now can only be obtained in Europe with a prescription. The FDA now wants the power to control our supplements here in the USA by also having the public obtain prescriptions to purchase vitamins, and that is outrageous.

Do you think I am exaggerating? Please listen.

Back in the early 1990s, the FDA tried to make many many supplements illegal. Consumers were so alarmed by the FDA’s powers that they staged a mass revolt. The result was that Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). That law protected supplements from the FDA unless the FDA can prove the supplement was not safe. The irony of that was that many pharmaceuticals are unsafe, but supplements usually are not unsafe.

There was, however, a loophole in the 1994 law. The FDA was given the authority to regulate new ingredients introduced after October 15, 1994.

So, what happened? For 17 years, the FDA took no action, gave no guidance, and launched no enforcement of these new dietary ingredients.

And, that has been a good thing because for 17 years the dietary supplement industry has enjoyed tremendous innovations. These innovations have allowed us to extract and concentrate the most effective natural ingredients. As a result, millions of consumers have benefitted. They have protected their hearts and arteries, found relief from their joint pain, boosted their memory, and much much more.

And, during this time, supplements have enjoyed a remarkable safety record. Statistics show that supplements are much safer than prescription drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, and even some foods.

Meanwhile, pathogens like e. coli in food kill at least 2000 people every year. Drugs like Tylenol kill 450 people per year. And, more powerful prescription drugs kill many more. Even the FDA now says that Vioxx likely killed over 26,000 people before they finally took that off the market.

Now, We the People must talk to our government representatives and tell them that we are very concerned about the new FDA power and control over our dietary supplements.

Supplements have an unrivaled safety record while pharmaceuticals do not, and so that is why We the People must demand our government not let this law go through with the FDA. The pharmaceutical industry must not have control over our vitamins and minerals.

The timing is perfect for We the Public to force our lawmakers to do the right thing. What bugged me the most – when I learned some time ago how our lawmakers were also giving pensions to their spouses, I thought this is unadulterated stealing from We the People. Shame on Congress!

The topic is Social Security.

2012 is an election year for one-third of the Senate and one-half of the House of Representatives. It would be nice if Congress got the message. The voting taxpayers are in charge now. Let us show our leaders in Washington people power and the power of the internet. Please forward this to all your friends. It does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat. Just keep it going.

Propose this in 2012. Start a movement to place all politicians on Social Security. Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security, and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago, they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no Congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan. For all practical purposes, their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, except it may increase from time to time for Cost of Living Adjustments. For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman Whyte, and their wives, may expect to draw $7,800,000 with their wives also drawing $275,000 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average lifespan for each of those dignitaries. Younger dignitaries who retire at an early age will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan to them is zero, nada, zilch! This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The fund for this fine retirement plan comes directly from the General Fund – our tax dollars at “work”.

From our own Social Security plan, which you and I pay, or have paid into, every payday until we retire, which amount is matched by our employer, we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement – or in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one month to equal Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits. Social Security could be very good if only one small change was made. That change would be to jerk the golden fleece retirement plan from under the Senators and Congressmen, put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us, then sit back and see how fast they would fix it.

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted, and maybe good changes will evolve. How many people can you send this to? Better yet, how many people will you send this to?

This information was recently sent to me by Chris Kincade, President of the National Committee Against the United Nations Takeover.

Concisely, I have no use whatsoever for the U.N., who since its inception, never performed for the world’s benefit. It has been subsidized entirely by the generous U.S. for the past 60 years. And, now our President, no surprise, is using the U.N. to promote his contrary hope and change ideas.

Many Americans are wondering how President Barrack Hussein Obama will push his radical agenda now that the House of Representatives is controlled by conservatives. And, now we know.

Obama has informed the Senate, which is still controlled by liberals, that there are 17 treaties that he wants ratified. What kind of a leader wants to create treaties which clearly weaken and will hurt his own Country?

If these treaties are ratified by the Senate:

1. Foreign law will replace the U.S. Constitution.2. The United Nations will have the power to impose global taxes on the American people.3. The United Nations will take control of oil resources off the American coast. 4. The United Nations bureaucrats and international lawyers will even have the authority to tell the U.S. Navy where it is allowed to go.

Barrack Obama supports these anti-American international treaties that threaten our sovereignty, our Constitution, and even our way of life. And, the liberal Senate could help Barrack Obama ram through this Leftist foreign policy agenda with these treaties.

A U.N. global tax treaty, a U.N. treaty to overturn America’s Second Amendment which is your right to bear arms, and other U.N. treaties would replace the U.S. Constitution with U.N. foreign law. Do you approve of Barrack Obama’s pro United Nations treaty agenda?

Hopefully none of these treaties will be voted in. We the People must not allow Obama a second term – or our nation as we know it will be destroyed.

Portions of the following Kay commentary were written in 2006, and appear in her book. Here is Kay Zwerling:

When I am on the telephone and the operator says “For Spanish press 1, and for English press 2”, it irritates me, because I think that those who come to our Country should learn to speak our language. It is easy for many Americans to feel wistful and envious after learning how the Australian government is now dealing with their immigration problems.

If we had felt the same way 30 years ago when political-correctness clouded our viewpoint and inhibited us from speaking out about how we run our Country, and if we had had more backbone instead of blind approval for diversity, we would be in better national shape now. We were so eager to make the newcomers feel welcome that we did not see that we that were diluting our own unique beliefs. We relinquished our precious standards to accommodate those with different beliefs, and now we are a discontented mess, and nobody is truly happy.

Listen to the following, and wonder – is it too late for us to assert our own American identity?

This is called “Immigration Common Sense” and it was spoken by Prime Minister John Howard of Australia:

“Those people of different religions who come to our Country were told recently that to get out of Australia as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks, immigrants, not Australians, must adapt, take it or leave it. We are tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorists’ attack on Bali, we have experienced a surge of patriotism by the majority of Australians.

However, the dust from the attacks had hardly settled when the politically-correct crowd, again complained about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. We are not against immigration nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia; however, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country need to understand. This idea of Australia being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our own lifestyle.

We speak mainly English. Not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, then learn the language. Most Australians believe in God. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home because God is part of our culture. We are happy with our culture, and have no desire to change, and we really do not care how you did things where you came from. By all means, keep your culture, but do not force it on others.

This is our country, our land, and our lifestyle, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all of this, however, once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our Pledge, our beliefs, or our way of life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great Australian freedom – the right to leave.

We did not force you to come here. You asked to be here.”

So, KSCO listeners, this gem speaks volumes for the fervent wishes of many many Americans. I believe maybe it is not too late to take back our Country and our own national language and our own civil religious beliefs, and only those willing to abide by them should stay, and the others should leave and go elsewhere. I know this is wishful thinking. Let’s take back Christmas and the Ten Commandments, and all our other national beliefs, and best of all let’s embrace Almighty God.

Once every eight years, at the very least, we find ourselves politically being confused because I must think about voting for the one person to become our leader.

Sometimes it is only once in four years if we are satisfied with the performance of our present President. This time around it is not the case. Too many of us believe that Barrack Hussein Obama has been a dismal failure as a President!

He was totally unprepared because of total inexperience, and he wanted to turn our Country into Socialism, and we say No.

I could not have voted for him anyhow because he told Plumber Joe that as President he planned to spread the wealth and within 24 hours punished Plumber Joe by scrutinizing his background pubically for being arrogant enough to ask candidate Obama a difficult question.

Also, there is one special aspect of the voting process that I believe is very disturbing – and that is the money to run for President.

There are a number of candidates running for President. And, most probably would handle the job much better than Obama has. But, because of our process of voting, probably none of them will win. It is probably the candidate with the most money who will. And, that is unfair!

And, it probably could be Obama again because he is raising a great deal of money.

That is why I believe we fail as a true democracy!

The richest should not become President. The most confident should win. Each candidate should spend the same amount of money given to them by our government, and then will the really best candidate win and become President honestly.

But, that will never happen. And, the really best person for the job will never be elected.

About this other issue – I believe that We the People should at once demand our Congress to create a law stating that the U.S. government will never again subsidize privately owned businesses. That was an outrage.

This action, if it ever were to happen again, must have the approval of every citizen because every one of us own the government money!

So, private people and businesses must use their own private money and not mine and not yours.

For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.

The long requested book of Kay’s commentaries is now available for purchase online at our KSCO.com website, right on the home page. For $24.95 plus shipping and handling, it’s applicable. Treat yourself to this wonderful book full of Kay’s wisdom, thoughts, and humor. It makes a great gift, and all proceeds support KSCO your favorite radio station. Go to KSCO.com and buy Kay’s book today.

This commentary is in my book. I wrote it almost seven years ago, and I believe nothing much has changed regarding this very important issue.

On April 6, 2005, I felt a sense of revulsion at the extent to which our Country and Canada and now all of Europe have been poisoned by the intrusion of political-correctness.

That day the front page headline in the Sentinel was “Student Protest Disrupts Job Fair.” Two hundred UCSC student protestors loudly demanded that the military recruiters lawfully participating in the Job Fair on campus be forced to leave. University administrators actually validated the undemocratic student protest and forced the military recruiters to leave. What should have happened at the very least is that the protestors should have been forced to leave; and at best all of them should have been expelled. The loudmouth pipsqueak inmates are being encouraged to run the asylum, which We the People pay for.

In Sunday, May 15 Sentinel, still 2005, we learned that our own twice-time Mayor, Mike Rotkin, longtime UCSC instructor, and much too longtime Santa Cruz political activist, publically complimented the student protestors for evicting the military recruiters.

Is it any wonder that new businesses will no longer dream of locating in Santa Cruz? And, is it any wonder that we are in a constant budget deficit, and our roads are full of potholes because of Mike Rotkin and his ilk running the show for so long?

May 21, 2005, our City will have the first armed services parade initiated by parents of Vietnam veterans and all other veterans. Michael Rotkin, the Mayor, has agreed to attend. Mayor, if you have integrity, you cannot have it both ways.

Back to the student protestors. You should know that their behavior against military recruiters is being condoned and encouraged in all of the UC campuses where 85% of the professors are liberal and only 15% are conservatives. And now, in 2011, that imbalance is still the case.

This is a fact. University instructor recruiting is in the hands of the Left. Political indoctrination has no place in institutions of higher learning where all sides of issues should be permitted and encouraged in a mutually respecting environment.

How many of these loudmouthed one-sided teachers and professors of military age will scurry to Canada if we are forced to initiate the Draft again? Probably many of them: The same ilk which defends criminals and evildoers and ignores victims’ rights and hates the U.S., but enjoys the benefits therefrom.

Finally, kudos to the Sentinel for describing fairly and in detail this deplorable situation where military recruiters continue to endure spitting and even bodily injury by student protestors.

Why is this behavior permitted? Because not all, but many high school teachers, university and college professors condone and encourage these actions and have the students do their dirty work for them.

For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.

The long requested book of Kay’s commentaries is now available for purchase online at our KSCO.com website, right on the home page. For $24.95 plus shipping and handling, it’s applicable. Treat yourself to this wonderful book full of Kay’s wisdom, thoughts, and humor. It makes a great gift, and all proceeds support KSCO your favorite radio station. Go to KSCO.com and buy Kay’s book today.

I read this one several years ago, and I think it is time for a little more political humor. I do not know where this came from, but it is funny, and it is worth a few belly laughs, so don’t anyone get mad.

For those who slept through World History 101, here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters and gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer, and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer, and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer, and the beer to the man.

These facts formed the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain, and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery.

That is how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer.

This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the Conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ’s and doing the sewing, fetching, and hairdressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some noteworthy Liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide all the meat and beer that Conservatives provided.

Over the years, Conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the Elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern Liberals like imported beer with lime added, but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water.

They eat raw fish, but like their beef well done.

Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood, and group therapists are Liberals.

Conservatives who own companies hire other Conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the Liberals remained in Europe when Conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed, so here ends today’s lesson in world history.

For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.

The long requested book of Kay’s commentaries is now available for purchase online at our KSCO.com website, right on the home page. For $24.95 plus shipping and handling, it’s applicable. Treat yourself to this wonderful book full of Kay’s wisdom, thoughts, and humor. It makes a great gift, and all proceeds supportKSCO your favorite radio station. Go to KSCO.com and buy Kay’s book today.